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More Cloud Storage To The Mac’s Finder

By Dylan said it best. “The times, they are are a’changing.” Back in the day all my backups were stored on external disk drives with critical files stored on nearby Macs connected to the Mincey Family Local Network™. Yes, you can brand yourself.

The problem with putting important or critical files on attached external disk drives or synchronized to other Macs is a twofold paradox. First, the local files are subject to destruction thanks to tornado, hurricane, flood, fire, theft, or whatever other catastrophic event. Second, files copied to a Mac notebook means those files have legs and could easily disappear.

So, more and more I’ve been using online storage, particularly as competition heats up and cloud storage prices have gone down. I use iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and for static files that just need to be archived, Amazon S3. See the problem? There’s an app to manage for each of those.

That’s where CloudMounter comes in. This is a single application that works in the Mac’s Finder to give you access to each of those online storage accounts, much like how iCloud works in the Finder.

Instead of entering username and password information into four or five different online storage apps, use CloudMounter to manage them all. They all work from within the Mac’s Finder so the learning curve is practically non-existent.

Connecting to the online cloud storage service of your choice is drop dead easy, too, thanks to the Menubar controls. From one click, you can access a cloud storage option, check Preferences, even add a new online connection.

CloudMounter manages all Amazon S3 regions, including the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Also built-in to CloudMounter are options for FTP/sFTP/FTPS connections. Select whatever Bucket on your AWS account you prefer, and then use the Finder to upload and download files. The usernames and passwords are stored in the Mac’s Keychain app for safekeeping.

The convenience of having a single app make the connections for half a dozen online storage options, and then integrating the connections into the Finder cannot be overstated.

Sweet. And the price is right (especially when compared to other similar solutions).

Personally, I love a little competition. CloudMounter works much like another favorite, ExpanDrive for the Mac. When I checked the CloudMounter website today for an update I noticed that the developer gives a 50-percent discount for owners of a competitive product. There’s also a trial version so you can try-before-you-buy.

There are a couple of minor nits of note. First, CloudMounter does not have an option to share a public link to Dropbox or other services. That would be good to have. Second, it does not integrate iCloud, but iCloud Drive already is integrated into the Finder.